World News

Based on the article there's nothing random about it and it's not just any citizen. They ask it of people who served on nations that have active conflicts. So basically, people who might have been in position to commit war crimes.

Intolerance of genocide...?

Military service is compulsory for Israeli citizens. The IDF has been committing war crimes daily for literal decades. It was a legitimate question to ask.

If you go into someone else's house, you need to be respectful of their space.

Many Chinese and Indian tourists regularly trample the alpine flower fields at Mt. Rainier National Park for selfies or just as a shortcut when they get tired of walking on the hiking paths.

When confronted, instead of being apologetic, they get defensive and diminish the impact of their actions by demeaning American culture and spaces.

"It's just some flowers. They'll grow back!"

Yeah, maybe. But that will take eighty years and it may not even happen due to climate change.

These kind of behaviors are what sours locals against tourism, especially when it is consistent across a cultural tourist groups.

We all need to do better when visiting each other's spaces, and that starts by owning our cultural shortfalls and poor behavior, with the goal of personally improving our own.

Ironically, I've never heard any complaints about Japanese tourists, as they often arrived well-educated about local customs and behave respectfully.

You realize not every country wants foreigners right? It’s their right to dictate that. There was this whole thing about how America and England literally threatened Japan with artillery until they opened their borders.

Yes, I do. But I am a foreigner there. When we don't observe their traditions and disrupt their society, I feel like it's okay for them to set boundaries.

I get why it's not right, but I also accept it. It's not my country, not my rules, not my traditions. So, I am willing to live by their rules.

Not literally those words. From what I've seen online, various establishments, if not entire towns, have thrown up "Japanese only" or "Japanese language only" to discourage foreigners. They generally only do this after there's been a trend of tourists making asses of themselves, but since the first places to do it kind of went viral, it's not too surprising if the habit has sprung up elsewhere.

Sure, it's only a handful of disrespectful tourists when all the rest are fine, but if you allow any non-Japanese (person or language, pick your preference) eventually you'll get those tourists.

Like it or not, it's a simple way to say no to that.

The purpose of my comment was kind of to call out the ridiculousness of the question being on the form, because if that broad definition is how were defining war criminals, then yes I think logically it would mean people funding the war crimes in any capacity would then be war criminals themselves. Again, by the definition assumed based on the question being on the questionnaire. When I read it my first thought was that I could probably not say no to that question as a US taxpayer

Personally I dont think aiding & abetting in any way, especially through involuntary taxation, is enough to define someone as a war criminal. But its fair to say we (collectively) arent doing enough to stop the bad shit our taxes are funding, which is true of any Israeli citizen right now as well.

People could refuse to pay their taxes and risk arrest, but I dont think thats an effective form of protest. Better to not be in prison and have a voice. But there would be a logical consistency in doing it